I haven't heard from the player (who shall remain nameless unless he chimes in) so I'm back to writing my CONCACAF column. I did some more research on the United States' road "struggles."
The answer is below but before you click on the link to read the entire post, can you guess when the last time the US lost a road World Cup qualifier to a nation other than Mexico or Costa Rica?
Canada, in 1980. During that span, they beat Trinidad twice and El Salvador on the road and even threw in a 1-1 draw in Costa Rica. And those were the dark ages of US soccer.
Now, I don't expect the US to win by three goals on the road. In fact, this is more reflective of how poor CONCACAF is, not necessarily how strong the US is. You want tough road qualifiers? Go to South America. You want winnable games in a difficult environment? Then CONCACAF is for you.
4 comments:
Here's a good example of a CONCACAF road qualifier:
The US tied Panama 1-1 on the road in 2004 and was very, very lucky to get that draw. Panama was pushing for a second goal and nearly got it, and Cobi Jones's last second equalizer looked offsides.
Later in the round, the US beat Panama 6-0 at home. And it could have been more.
I remember that twist and turn move Cobi pulled to try to make the shot look more onside. Little tricks like that are what veteran players provide.
have you guys considered bringing in other writers to help you keep the site more up to date? just a thought.
saludos, d
Check out the USMNT blog - more and more stats today posted to "prove"(?) how good the team/players are. It's kind of strange, no?
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